HSL Prime End of the Day Summary: 12 August 2026

Strong buying from lows trims early damage, Nifty ends with marginal loss

Nifty fell for the second straight session, shedding 35 points to close at 24,435. After a flat open, heavy selling in the first half dragged the index more than 200 points below the previous close. A swift 170-point rebound from the day’s low in the second half trimmed most losses, while a 70-point pickup in the closing auction session (CAS) helped cap the decline. NSE cash turnover rose 8% versus the prior day.

Among Nifty 50 stocks, Hindalco, Bharti Airtel, and SBI led the gainers; TCS, Max Healthcare and Apollo Hospitals were the main laggards.

Sectoral performance was mixed. PSU Banks, Media, and Metal outperformed, while IT, FMCG and Consumer Durables were the biggest underperformers.

Broader markets were mixed. The Nifty Midcap 100 gained 0.28%, whereas the Nifty Smallcap 100 fell 0.18%. Market breadth stayed negative for the second day, with the BSE advance-decline ratio at 0.76, pointing to selective profit booking in midcaps and smallcaps.

The rupee snapped a two-day losing streak, appreciating 10 paise to close at 95.33 as cooling crude prices offered relief after the recent rally. Likely central bank interventions and dollar inflows into debt and primary markets also supported the currency.

During the session, Nifty breached both its 20-day DEMA at 24,360 and 200-day DEMA at 24,385. However, the index managed to reclaim and close above these key moving averages, which is an encouraging sign for the bulls. Even after falling over 500 points from its recent peak of 24,774, Nifty remains above its 20, 50, 100 and 200-day DEMAs, keeping the broader undertone bullish.

The day’s low of 24,265 now acts as immediate support, followed by the psychological 24,000. On the upside, 24,630 and 24,750 are the key resistance zones to watch.